Community services

The municipality does not have municipal police but it does have a Community Services Department. The department does participate in community programmes together with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Department of Community Safety and liaison. Directorate Community Services is engaged in realising the provision of community services as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, with specific reference section 152 of chapter 7. The Directorate is also ensuring the protection of environment and animals.

Services provision

  • Emergency and disaster management services
  • Registration and licensing services
  • Traffic and security services
  • Arts and culture
  • Social services

Objectives

  • To provide licensing services
  • To promote traffic , safety and security services and enforcement of council by-laws
  • To Provide Emergency and Disaster management services
  • To Provide social services
  • Promotion of Arts, Culture and Sports
Disaster Management
South Africa faces a wide range of increased threats and disastrous risks, exposed to a wide range of weather hazards including; drought, cyclones and severe storms that can trigger widespread hardships and devastation. As a result of these, Municipalities find themselves burdened with budgets constraints that result in humanitarian assistance obligations in times of emergency.
In addition to these natural and human- induced disasters, and despite the ongoing progress and efforts of the government to extend poverty alleviation grants to the needy people to alleviate mal-nutrition and starvation, which cause these people to be most vulnerable, a large number of these people still live in conditions of chronic disastrous vulnerabilities in residential structures that pose not only a threat of repeated informal settlement fires and collapsing structures, but a threat to the neighbouring environment as well.
The Act recognizes the wide-ranging opportunities in South Africa to avoid and reduce disaster losses through concerted efforts of all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector. However, it also acknowledges the crucial need for uniformity in the approach taken by such a diversity of role players and partners.

Proirities

  • Identification of disaster risk areas;
  • Management of accident scenes especially where there has been spillages; and
  • Development of Disaster Management Plan and the establishment of Disaster Management Coordinating Forum.
  • Development of contingency plans

Prevention and mitigation strategies

The Municipality has budgeted R1m for Disaster management temporary relief items
to provide temporary accommodation and to provide other relief items to displaced
people affected either by sinkholes, shack fires or other disastrous incidents.
  • Furthermore, the Municipality has also budgeted for grass unit, fire engine, support vehicle, rescue vehicle, fire tanker and hazmat to deal with veldt fires and road accidents.
  • The Municipality also do awareness campaigns to address water contamination, shack fires and unlawful refuse disposal

 

Preparedness plan (early warnings)

The municipality has a disaster management plan and will in case of any disaster activate, release the necessary resources and will through media, sms, internal and external structures inform the community about the possible occurrence of the disaster.

Public Participaltion and Good Governance

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